International child pornography investigation results in 75-year sentence for Sugar Land man

Submitted, Fort Bend County DA’s Office

Published 8:05 am, Friday, December 13, 2013

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D.J. Lowe, sentenced to 75 years in prison for sexually assaulting a child at his Sugar Land residence in 2010.

D.J. Lowe, sentenced to 75 years in prison for sexually assaulting a child at his Sugar Land residence in 2010.

Photo: FBCSO Mugshot

International child pornography investigation results in 75-year sentence for Sugar Land man

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“To save one child from continued child abuse was worth the effort,” was the reaction of Fort Bend County District Attorney John Healey, as news greeted him that 400th District Court Judge Clifford J. Vacek sentenced D.J. Lowe to 75 years in prison for the Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child at Lowe’s residence in 2010. The 39-year-old Sugar Land man plead guilty to the indictment in August, but asked the court to decide his fate at a hearing on Dec. 6.

According to Assistant District Attorney Michael Hartman, this case began as a child pornography investigation which uncovered the manufacture of child pornography in Sugar Land, the international distribution of child pornography, and the aggravated sexual assault of child.

“Studies show that a high percentage of offenders that collect child pornography have sexually abused children as well,” said Hartman, “which is why it is so important to investigate beyond the initial pornography we discover. It can happen anywhere and you never know how many victims you will find or how extensive the network of pornography is.”

Authorities in Italy arrested a man there who had received child pornography via the internet from the United States. The investigation into the domestic case by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Harris County Sheriff’s Office traced the source of the images to D.J. Lowe’s residence in Sugar Land. When officers executed a search warrant at the defendant’s residence, they discovered computers and photographic equipment containing many images and/or videos of child pornography. The victims, ranging in age between two and ten years old, were identified by officers and interviewed at the Fort Bend County Children’s Advocacy Center.

“This conviction was a result of the collaborative efforts of the Italian authorities, the FBI, the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, the Sugar Land Police Department, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Fort Bend County District Attorney’s Office,” said Hartman, “and everyone would agree that the tremendous efforts to investigate this case were worth it.”

Lowe was prosecuted locally for the Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child, a first-degree felony, which carries the punishment range of 5-99 years or life in prison. Lowe also plead guilty in federal court to the Sexual Exploitation of Children, Distribution of Child Pornography and Possession of Child Pornography for which he was sentenced to 540 months in federal prison. The sentences will run concurrently.